​New This Week ... 

Show Your Artistic Side
You don’t have to be an artist to volunteer for the art programs at OLE. The only qualification you need to volunteer for OLE’s art programs is an interest in helping our budding artists learn about and gain an appreciation for art. Art Adventures and Art in the Classroom are in need of volunteers. Please join us for an informational meeting on Wednesday, September 21, 2:45 - 3:30 p.m., in the Art Room (across from Kindergarten rooms). Help us make this the best year ever for art at OLE! 

Chip Shoppe Fundraiser
Our annual fall fundraiser kicks off next week. Look for Chip Shoppe packets to come home with your student. 

Food Assistance Program 
Learning is hard work and children need a lot of energy to get through the day. That’s why Otter Lake Elementary is partnering with the White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf to keep our students well-fed, strong, and ready to learn. If you or someone you know could use food assistance, please complete this form. If you have any questions, contact WBAEFS at (651) 407-5310.  

Safety Reminder
Parent drop-off/pick-up: If you are exiting your car to pick up your student, please park in a designated parking spot. Do not park along the curb if you want to exit your vehicle. This creates a safety hazard for students. Thanks for your cooperation!

Job Opening
Calling all stay-at-home parents! Otter Lake Elementary is looking for a substitute lunch-time/recess monitor. This is a paid position. For more information, please email ursula.thomas@isd624.org.

Reminders ... 

We Want YOU to Volunteer for the PTA!
Want to support your child’s education, meet other parents and have a great time? We’re looking for volunteers to help fill a variety of positions. If you’re interested in helping out with our Bingo Bash, Spring Carnival, book fairs, or any of our programs from Art in the Classroom to the Ashland Musical -- we want to hear from you! Please take a moment to SIGN UP. We promise you’ll have FUN!

BearScare Family Fun Run & Costume Contest ... Saturday, October 29, 9 a.m.
The BearScare Family Fun Run & Costume Contest is an annual event to raise money for OLE and Lincoln Elementary schools. This scary-fun fall fundraiser is no to be missed. Be sure to come in costume — if you dare! Costume Contest winners will be announced at 9:45 a.m. Register early and save $5 per participant!

When: Saturday, October 29, 10 a.m. – noon. Registration begins at 9 a.m. (Walk-ins are welcome. Please bring a check/cash).  

Where: The Skeleton Skip starts at 10 a.m. (Shorter run on school grounds.) The Freaky Four Miler starts 10:20 a.m. (Route will go to Lincoln and back).

Cost:  $15/child, $20/adult
Early Bird Registration by October 13: $10/child, $15/adult. 

PTA Meeting Minutes
Miss the PTA meeting last Tuesday? You can read the PTA meeting minutes from our last meeting and past meetings on the OLE PTA website. 

Dates to Remember 
October 2016
11 - PTA Meeting, 6:30 p.m., in the Media Center
11 - Chip Shoppe Orders Due
20/21 - No School
29 - BearScare Fun Run

The OLE PTA is also excited to welcome a familiar face as it's new president. Kasmynn Cessna has been an active member of the PTA since 2011. She began volunteering for the PTA on the carnival committee and for the past two years has served as vice president. Kasmynn, an ER nurse, is mom to three kids, a 6th-grader, Ayden, a 3rd-grader, Carter, and a 1st-grader, Cadence. She and her husband, Joel, enjoy traveling with their kids and playing sports, especially hockey. 

Kasmynn looks forward to growing the PTA and getting more parents and community members involved in volunteering for Otter Lake. “At the end of the day, I truly believe that the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of all parents,” she says.  

Kasmynn takes the reigns from Ellen Maruyama, who served two years as president and as secretary before that. Ellen will continue to be active on the PTA. ​

The White Bear Lake School District recently made the announcement that Timothy Schochenmaier will be leaving Otter Lake Elementary to take the position as the new Central Middle School principal. 

Principal Schochenmaier will stay on at Otter Lake during August until a one-year interim principal is selected through a process that will involve Otter parents and staff members. Below is an excerpt from the email announcement sent by Superintendent Michael J. Lovett ... 

Effective immediately, Mr. Schochenmaier will also be the principal of record for Central Middle School and will be involved in all decisions in preparation for the upcoming school year. District leaders will be a visible part of the transition for both school sites.

We will move quickly to fill the Otter Lake principal position on a one-year interim basis. We invite you to help develop a leadership profile for the position; you are invited to a meeting with me, Director of Human Resources Linda Goers, and Assistant Superintendent Sara Paul this Thursday, August 11 from 5-6 p.m. in the Otter Lake Media Center.
​
If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to contribute, please email Linda Goers, Human Resources Director, at linda.goers@isd624.org.

BearPower is back and in full swing at OLE, helping students learn the importance of being active and eating five fruits and veggies every day. Power Packs, filled with fun food adventures and kid-approved recipes, were sent home recently. We hope you’re enjoying trying new foods with your kids. Remember, it's never too early to start teaching healthy eating habits!

Bear Power Bike Ride
Get Bear-powered up at the Bear Power Family Bike Ride, Saturday, May 21, at Otter Lake Elementary. Join your friends and neighbors in getting active and showing your OLE school spirit at this FREE community event.

Want to learn more about the Bear Power initiative? 
BearPower is a community-wide movement helping White Bear Lake area families eat well and be active. Since 2013, Otter Lake has joined forces with the White Bear Lake School District, community organizations, local businesses and HealthPartners to create a healthier environment for kids. We are working together so that all OLE kids can reach their full potential.

BearPower works through partnerships, local events and programs to make it easier for kids to eat well and be active in all the places they live, learn and play. We help kids get BearPowered every day with 5-2-1-0:

• 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
• 2 hours or less of screen time a day
• 1 hour of physical activity a day
• 0 sugary drinks!  

​

Is your student a Tech Ninja interested in learning more about designing applications and coding? The Tech Club, open to all 3rd, 4th and 5th-graders, still has spaces available. Click HERE to sign up! 

In case you missed the story in the White Bear Press last week, OLE third-graders have been using their Chromebooks to connect with students in Haiti. Students in Mrs. Oklobzija’s class videoconferenced with a grade school in Port-au-Prince last week. It was the second time the students connected from 3,200 miles away.

It's that time of year again! Time to get those STEM Fair projects started! The Otter Lake STEM Fair is Thursday, February 4, 5:30 - 8 p.m.  All students in grades K-5 are invited to create a project. Please submit your child's STEM Fair registration form online by January 28. If you are in need of a paper copy, please ask your student's teacher.

Be sure to check out the STEM Fair newsletter for more information and these resources for project ideas.

We can't wait to see the awesome projects students create this year. Remember, your student doesn't have to create a project to attend the fair. All OLE students and families are welcome to attend! 

Rehearsals are underway for “We Are Monsters”, the new musical that follows human kids into a monster cabaret filled with quirky monster characters, like vegetarian vampires and rock n’ roll werewolves! There will be 24 to 30 rehearsals to prepare for a three performance run on the Maplewood Community Center stage. Ashland directors will once again run rehearsals and instruct students in singing, dancing, and acting. Be sure to get your tickets in the spring! 

Thank you to all the wonderful Art Adventure volunteers who took time out of their busy schedules this November to teach Otter Lake students about art. We couldn’t do this program without you. 

This year's Art Adventure theme, “Artists’ Inspirations," introduced Otter Lake students to six very different works of art ranging from an 18th century jade sculpture to a Georgia O'Keefe painting from 1956. Check out the link for a glimpse at the amazing art your child experienced.  And don't forget … the original works of art are at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts where admission is free every day!

Here’s a peek at what’s happening at Otter Lake this week ... 

Chip Shoppe Order Pick Up  
Pick up your Chip Shoppe orders in the cafeteria on Tuesday, December 1, 3 - 6 p.m.  Please make arrangements with a friend or neighbor to pick up your order if you are not able to be there during pick up time. Unfortunately, there is no refrigerated storage for orders that are not picked up by 6 p.m. 

PTA Meeting  
Please join us for the monthly PTA meeting Tuesday evening, December 1, 6:30 p.m., in the Media Center.  This month, Superintendent Dr. Lovett will be joining us to answer parent questions.  We will also receive a school update from Principal Schochenmaier. Childcare will be available. 

Reminders!
We had our first significant snowfall of the season this week and with that comes a reminder to please send your student to school dressed appropriately for the cold weather.

A quick reminder about nut allergies - Pease do not send your students to school with snacks that contain nuts. We have students at Otter Lake who are very allergic to nuts and for their safety we cannot have these products sent to school for snack time. Thank you so much for your help! 

​Happy Monday! Here’s what we have going on at Otter Lake this week ... 

Fall conferences & teacher appreciation dinner
Monday, November 16 is the last night of fall conferences and the Scholastic Book Fair. This evening is also the annual teacher appreciation dinner. If you signed up to bring food, please deliver it, clearly labeled and sealed,  to Ursula Thomas in the front office by 3:30 p.m. today. 

School Spirit Day
Mark your calendars! This Friday, November 20, is School Spirit Day at OLE! Students, parents and teachers are encouraged to wear their favorite OLE jersey or t-shirt! 

Shop at Barnes & Noble, Black Friday - December 15
Shopping for the holidays? Put some gifts from Barnes & Noble on your list! Barnes & Noble in Maplewood will be donating 15% of its proceeds to the White Bear Lake Educational Foundation (WBLEF), beginning on Black Friday, November 27, through December 15. Simply mention WBLEF at checkout! This goes for all purchases - even a cup of coffee! 

What if you could turn a $10 donation into an additional $1,000 donation for Otter Lake Elementary PTA? Join us on Thursday, November 12, for Give to the Max Day and you could help make that happen! Make your donation on GiveMN.org and help us continue to change lives at OLE.

On November 12, every gift made on GiveMN.org will be entered into an hourly drawing for a $1,000 GiveMN Golden Ticket to be awarded to a Minnesota nonprofit or school. That adds up to 24 opportunities for you to help us receive an extra $1,000! Here’s the really exciting part: One donation made on GiveMN.org will be randomly selected at noon and at the end of Give to the Max Day to receive a $10,000 Super-Sized GiveMN Golden Ticket!

The more gifts we generate on GiveMN.org on November 12, the more our chances increase to receive that additional $10,000 donation. Imagine what we could do with $10,000!

Our goal is to raise $3000 to support technology in classrooms, and you can help us reach it! Be sure to mark your calendar and make your gift on November 12 by visiting GiveMN.org and searching for Otter Lake Elementary PTA. Thank you!

Please volunteer your time to help with hearing and vision screenings at Otter Lake on Tuesday, November 17. No experience necessary, but a current background check is required. Please contact Jan Darling at Janice.darling@isd624.org or call 651-407-7600, ext. 2845. Or sign up online here. 

Encourage him or her to register for “We Are Monsters” -- a new musical that follows human kids into a monster cabaret filled with quirky monster characters, like vegetarian vampires and rock n’ roll werewolves! There will be 24 to 30 rehearsals to prepare for a three performance run on the Maplewood Community Center stage. Ashland directors will once again run rehearsals and instruct students in singing, dancing, and acting. 

PARTICIPATION: Grades 2-5.

COST: $85 processing fee per student.

REGISTRATION: Complete registration online at www.ashlandproductions.org beginning December 7, 2015, and closing December 20, 2015. Every child who registers will be in the show!

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: Rehearsals take place at the school on Tuesday and Thursday, from 3:50 - 4:50 p.m. beginning January 5, 2016. 

TECH REHEARSALS: Tech rehearsals take place at the theatre in the Maplewood Community Center, April 4-6, 2016 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Performances: Performances are held in the theatre at the Maplewood Community Center.

Want to stay up-to-date on all the exciting programs, events and volunteer opportunities at Otter Lake? Sign up to receive our eNewsletter! 

Want to connect with other OLE parents?
​The Otter Lake Elementary PTA is creating a student directory as a service to OLE families. It can be used to connect with others in our school community and is a great resource for parents to arrange play dates, mail birthday invitations, coordinate carpooling, clarify homework assignments, etc. Participation in this directory is OPTIONAL, is for PRIVATE circulation only, and will NOT be shared with outside parties. Sign-up today!​

Do your kids love to read? Sign up to volunteer for the upcoming book fair and get a $5 coupon for a Scholastic book! Book fair volunteers are needed for parent-teacher conference nights, November 10, 12 and 16. Sign up here: http://vols.pt/HSxENh

On Monday, November 16, we’ll be treating all of our awesome Otter Lake teachers to a pre-conference dinner! The PTA is providing Jimmy John's sandwiches for the meal, but we could use some additional food items to serve. Show your appreciation for an Otter Lake teacher. Bring or bake a food item to serve to them on their special night.

The following items are needed: fruit, vegetables, desserts, chips, and tortilla chips and salsa. Please SIGN UP if you can bring a food item!  (FYI: This is a shared document. If you would like to keep your name and email private, please email Angie Law at ajlawfamily@gmail.com.) As always, thank you for your support!

Scholastic Book Fair
Do your kids love to read? Brochures for the Scholastic Book Fair went home recently. You can order books online at scholastic.com/readingclub (you’ll need your student’s class activation code, located on the cover letter attached to the brochure) or visit the Book Fair in the Media Center, November 10, 12 and 16.

Book Fair volunteers are needed for parent-teacher conference nights, November 10, 12 and 16.  Please volunteer a few minutes of your time! Sign up here: http://vols.pt/HSxENh



​Give to the Max Day
Our annual Give to the Max Day is Thursday, November 12. You can make a donation anytime between now and November 12th by visiting Otter Lake’s Give to the Max page. Please consider making a small donation! Any amount helps!

The PTA is in need of an Event Coordinator for this event. Help us coordinate this important fundraiser for OLE. Contact Ellen Maruyama for more information. 
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Panera Bread Night
Visit Panera Bread at 959 County Road E in Vadnais Heights on Thursday, November 12, 4 – 8 p.m. to help raise money for our school. Panera Bread will donate a percentage of its sales during the event to OLE when you show an electronic or printed version of the attached flyer. Note: You must show the flyer to earn credit for OLE.

Teacher Appreciation Dinner
A teacher appreciation dinner will be held Monday, November 16. Donations of food items and volunteers are needed to help make this event a success. To donate, please contact Angie Law at alaw@isd12.org or Denise Woodcock at mndwoody@comcast.net

Sign up for eNews!
The PTA will be sending a form home this week asking for your contact information for OLE’s online directory. You will also be asked to share your email address to receive weekly (and only weekly!) updates from the PTA. Please share your email address with us so we can continue to keep you informed about OLE’s special events, programs and volunteer opportunities. Thank you!